Movable bridge.



BEST AVAILABLE COPv l y, PATENTBD APR.10., 1906.

T. BALL. Mov-ABLE BRIDGE.

AHLI'UATIONAHLED 82151226, 1205. I

"fw si u e R y iQ N BEST AvAiLABLE con No. 817,516. PATBTBD 1111110, 1906. 1.111111. l

MOVABLE BRIDGE.

APPLIUATION FILED 111121.26. 1905. y 5 SHEETS-SEMI 2.

BEST AVAILABLE COP`` y PATENTED APR. lo, 1906,

T. RALL. MOVABLE BRIDGE.. APLIOATION FILEID SEPT. 26, 1905.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Inventor.'

BEST AVAILABLE COP?l ANo. 817,516. PATENTBD A1311. 1o, 1906.

T. RALL.

MOVABLE BRIDGE. APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 26, 1905.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

BEST AVAILABLE COP PATENTED APR. l0, 1906.-

T. RALL. MOVABLE BRIDGE.

APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. ze, 1905.

@n ...0X ,u A n MW s W /V M a ,w M f H ,d E E o m.. 7 w .....wwunnnnmnnlnd nnnlhnnul l II. imm.. JM r M w Z f able bridges known as bascule or lift rrnn STATES rin-:orion BALL. or ornoAeo, ILLiNois.

MOVABLE BRiDGE.

No. siasi-cV Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented-April 10,'1906.

zipplicniion'ied.September 26.1905. Serial No. 280,142. i

lhave invented certain new and useful Ime provements in Movable Bridges, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to that type of movbridgesLhaving 'a span or spans movable to open and closed positions .by raising and lowering the outerend portionof the span.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a simple, economical, and' eilicient movable bridge. i

A'further object of the invention is to proj vide a bridge of the bascule type with simple and efficient means by which it may be operated andsupported in all positions into which it is movable.

, Other and further objects of the invention will appear from an examination ofthe drawings and the following description and claims.

The invention consists principally in pr'oviding a span having an upwardly and downwardly movable outer endand oscillating anchorfarm mechanism articulately connected witha'stationary part or support and operatively connected with the movable span for operating it and controlling or limiting its movement- A.

lt consists, Jfurther, in the features, combinations, and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed. Y inthe accompanying drawings,` Figure 1 is a side elevation of a span or' a bridge with its supporting and operating mechanisms constructed inV accordance with my improvements, showing the span in lowered operative or closed position; Fig. 2, a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, showing the span in raised or open position; Fig. 3, an end view ol the bridge in elevation, partly in section, certain parts being omitted 'lorpurposc of clearness g Fig. 4, a. detail view in elevation, showing the anchored strut or arm mechanism with its rack-anilpinion mechanism, la portion'of the 'framework being broken away to show the upper part of the counterweight Fig. 5, a transverse sectional viewtakcn on line 5 of Fig. 4 looking in the dii rcction of the arrow, showing one of thc'main' anchor arms or struts in section; Fig. (i, a detail View in elevation of one of the rotatable supporting-segments Fig. 7, a detail view in elevation, showing the means forsupporting `a side elevation of amodification, showingthe lbridge is required to support. `Thc sido the weight of the span when in closed or lower operative position independently of the rotatable supporting mechanism; and Fig. 8,

operating-rack upon the bridge-.span andthe 'pinion uponthemain anchorarm mechanism.

In constructing a bridge in accordance with my improvements l prpvide one or more spans a. When the space to be bridged is comparatively short, one span is sufficient, and when the' space requiresl a plurality of l spansor arms they may be of identical construction and supported and operated inthe same manner, so that theirouter upwardly and downwardly swinging ends swingtoward and from each other and are 4 ada ted to form a continuous bridge. It is there ore believed to be unnecessary to' describe more than one span and its operating and supporting mechanisms, as the description of such span and operating and supporting devices a ply in all respects to each of a plurality yo spans or arms. 8o

The vspan a comprises a pair of side trusses each having a top chord b and-a bottom chord c, between which trusses the fioor or railwaytrack, as the case may be, is laid, the weight of suchI floor or track being supported by transverse beams d and .longitudinal meinberse, forming a floor-framework which connects the lower portions of the side trusses and is adapted to carry the load which thc truss portions oi the span are-.connectedi at the shore end by means of atransverse frame- Work formed of I-beemsf and g and struts lli,

and a counterweight i balances the span so that itsfcenter of gravity is at the pivotal point indicated by the position of-thc pivots j, which pivotally support the span and are movable back and forth, ashereinafter described, A stationary support is provided'` in the formof piers k and l, and a framework in the form of trusses m extends from one It the other of such piers. The piers are moun ed at a sufiicient distance from leach oth provide a space over which the `sl'ior ooted end of the bridge swing.` I 1s' stationary support, whichmaybeo an yJorg, dinary and' well-known type, I ou ed'apair of'stationary tracks n, ea'cli1 *p r 1'" with perforations o forreceivingthe -t'eetliqpf j 1" rotatable or rockingsupportingseginents V([,Li'icv Y which are movably mountedii on :such tracks 'Ly and pivotallyponn'ectedwit the-span by manner.

meansefapivot Organisiert-y', already de:

scribed. These rocking segments thus foi-'mf a rotatable supporting mechanism reciprocatingly mounted .and adapted t'o move back 51 and forth upon the supporting-tracks, so asf to permit the 4bridge to be moved bodily back,

`andforth andalso permit the outer end of the span to swing upwardly and downwardly f upon the horizontally-movable pivotal center of the span. A pair of anchor-arms 1 are mounted' one 'on each side ofthe shore end of the bridge, I 'with their lower ,ends pivotally orl flexibly connected or anchored to a stationary part, I5

vsuch as the' pier 7c, bymeans of a pivot s.'

members t inthe form of angle-irons.l On the outside of such sidemembers are mounted' tracks u, also formed of'angleirons, and betweenlsuchfside members is' mounted a rack lu, having 'teetl tu,whic'h are adapted to en-u 'gage the teeth ai of a spur-gear y, which is ro- '-'tatably mounted upon the upper portion of the span by means of a shaft. This shaft is mounted in suitable bearings 2 in the span and is provided with arms 3,'loosely mounted' thereon, each of such arms beingprovided with guidingy antifriction-rollers 4, rotatably i y mounted at the outer ends of the arms u on trunnions 5, iii-engagement With the trac s u already described.- The rack and pinion mechanism thus operatively conneet the an-y chor-arm mechanism and span and provide means for raising and lowering the span.

' The shaft z, which 'supports the operatingpinion, may be providedwith a gear-wheel 6 or other means of any ordinary and wellknown'type for'operatively connecting the.

shaft and its bridge-.operating gear mechanism with a suitable source of power, such as a dynamo or engine, which may be mounted either upon the span orupon a stationary support in any ordinary and well each side of the shore end of the span are pivotally connected at' their lower en ds to astationary support, such as the supporting frame portion 8, by means of a supporting-l pin 9, which is beneath the center of'gravity of the span when in lowered or closed posi' tion. The upper ends of such anchonarms 7 are each pi votedto the span' by m'eans of a pivot-pinflO at a point rearward from the '55 center of gravity of the 'span and the support- `ing2pivot` y', which supports such span upon the vfr'ecipro-cating and. supporting segments.

The supportinglt'racks n,fw h

6s provid@ n g'ailsffnSupporting-'the weight off iig'. 'ELILL WQ," L i Each of theseanchor-arms is form'ed'of -side ich support' lthe rocking segments, and thereby the weight off'thespan1- While bemgrais'edand lowered' infrais'ed' positiori, f are carried by vcenter of welessrAvAlLABLE con.`

span-whenin lowered or closed position in'dependentiy of, thisl supporting-track and the movable supporting ymechanisms or rock- 1 ing segments, so as .to relieve such rotatable 1 supporting mechanism ofthe weight of the :span and its load when the' span is in lowered operativeorclose'd position.l To accomplish this, the supporting-rod 9,'already described, is'mounted upon -or.= s upported by the pier at a point beneaththe pivotsy and the center of gravity ofthe span whenini lowered or closed operative position, and struts '12, 13, and 14,

4which form parts of the side truss members of the span, converge directly over the supporting-rod 9.v Supporting-plates are secured to such struts or side truss members on notches 16, adaptedto engage the support-v each side-of the span and provided with lng-pin when the span is in its loweredor operati've position -and support the Weight of the span upon such pin`, thereby relieving the vrotatable supporting fmechanisms of the Weight of the s' anfand `its load.

The pivotel anchor-arms r are provided at their upperends-'Wth a transverselyfextending beam 17, which may be formed of a pir of I-b'eamsor in any ordinary and wellown manner, of such anchore'larms and adapted to engage the upperfstop-sho'nlder portions 18 of the span at the upper ends of thecounterweights and top of the inner' orpivoted end rofthe span, thus providinglimiting` stop mechanism for limiting. the downward movement of the outer swinging end of the 'span; The spanwhen in, lowered extended positionis thus supported independently of anypieror other support berieathf'fitsjouter end. and also inde endently 'of the fmovable' supporting mecllianis'm at theA pivoted end yof.. the bridge.

In operation the rotation of the operating pinion mechanism "y in fthe direction necessary to raise the outer upwardly and downconnecting .the upper ends roo wardly movable endfofthe span vwill cause the pinions to traveldOWnWard in engagement with the rack portions-of the adjacent anchored arms r, andthe anchored arms or links 7 being pivotally secured to the span by means of the pivot-pins-IO and to a stationary support at their lower ends by -means of the rods 9 will cause the span to' move bodily shoreward u on the rotating supporting-seg'- ments and tllieir supporting-tracksand at the same time cause the outer swinging end of the span to be raised to open position. The rotation ofthe operating in mechan ism inthe op osite direction wil cause the spanto move ack to initial positiony with its gravity'over the supportingrods 9 andfwill cause the supporting-plates to engage 'such rods beneath the center of or pivotal centerof the bridge, thus re ieving the `rotating or rocking supporting mechanismof the Weight ofthe span and supporting it lentirely l'ix'rdependently of such rotating 'IZO ravity v ma@ siasi'Namastecoef4 .a

mechanisms when in closed or lowered posi- I tion.

In Fig, S a mddiiied form of anchored arm and oper ating rack and pinion mechanism is shown, the pinion 19 being rotatably mounted upon the anchored ,arm or strut and the rack 2O being mounted upon the span of the bridge.

I claim-- 1. In a bascule-bridge, the combination-of y a span having an upwardly and downwardly movable end, a stationary support, a supporting-track mounted upon such stationary support, movable sup orting mechanism mounted upon 'such trac and pivotally connected with the span, and movable-anchorarms pivotally connected with a stationary part and operatively connected withthe span.

2. In a bascule-bridge, the combination of a span having an upwardly and downwardly movable end, a stationary support, mechanism mounted upon the stationary support and pivotally connected with the span for supporting it, anchor mechanism pivotally connected with a stationary part, and rackand-pinion mechanism operatively connected with such anchor mechanism and with. the span for raising and lowering the span.

. 3. In a bascule-bridge, the combination of a span having an upwardly and downwardly movableend, a stationary support, movable supporting mechanism mounted upon the' stationary support and pivotally connected with the span, oscillating anchor-arms pivotally connected with a stationary part, mechanism operatively connected with the anchorarms and with the span for raising and lowering the swinging end oi: the span, and links pivotally connected with a stationary part and with the span for controlling the movements of the span. y

4. In a bascule-bridge, the combination or;

i a span having an upwardly and downwardly movable end, a stationary support, movable' supporting 4 mechanism mounted upon the stationary support and pivotally connected `'with the span, oscillating anchor-arms connected with a stationary part, mechanism voperatively connected with the anchor-arms and with the span for raising and lowering the swinging end of the span, 'and means for supporting the s an when in lowered position independent y of the movable supportingmeclianism. i A

5. In a bascule-bridge, the combination of a span having an upwardly and downwardly movable end, a stationary support, 'movable' supporting mechanism mounted upon thel stationary support and` pivotally connected with the span, oscillating anchor-.arms-pivotally connected with a stationar part, rackand-pinion mechanism operative y connected with the anchor-arms and with the s an for depen ered position; f..

raising and lowering the swinging en ,ofthe span; and links pivotally connected with a i stationary part and with the span-forcon-. i'

trolling the movements ofthe spant-x1 6. In a bascule-bridge, the combination l a span having an'upwardly anddownwardlyzy movable end, a stationary support, movablej 'the swinving end of the s an, means for supportin the span when in owered position inently ofthe movable supporting mechanism, and links'pivotally'connected ,with a stationary part and with the span for con- Y trolling the movements of the span.v

7. In a bascule-bridge, the combination of a span having an upwardly and downwardly 85 vmovable end and provided vwith a c ounterweight, a stationary support, a track mounted upon such stationary sup ort, supportingsegmets movably mounte u on the track and-pivotally connected with t e span, links. pivotally connected with a stationary support and with the span, and rack-and-pinion mechanism for raising and lowering the span.' 8. In a bascule-bridge, the combination of a span having an upwardly anddownwardly movable end and provided with -a counterweight, a stationary support, a-track mounted upon suchstationary support, supportingsegments movably mountec u on t e track ,f and pivotally connected with t e span, links pivotally connected with a stationary support and with the span,'anchorarms pivotally connected with a stationary part and l movable adjacent tothe span', and rack-and- 1 pinion mechanism connected with'the anchor- 1c 5 arms and with the span for raising and lowering the span; .f

9. In a bascule-bridge, the combination of a span having an upwardly and downwardly v movable end' and provided with a counternb weight, a stationary'support, atraqk mounted upon'such stationary support, sup .ortingsegments movably mounte u ont e track and 'pivotally connected with t e span,.l1nks pivotall connected with a stationary art g and wit the span, rack-and-pinion mec anism for raising and lowering the span, and means for supporting thespan independently Y of rotary' supporting mechanism when' 1n' low- 10. Ina basculeebridge, the'c'mbination gf," a span an upwardly and downwardly? movable ven a stationary support. upon is` .mounted-3l. anchor-arms; pivotally connes ed to la"I stationary partfimdf provided'v with raclf'S theron-,f and` pmiondL mounted o'n the span'engagmgwlth theracksand-ada ted to beconneeted a suitable 4source o power.' 11. In abascule-bridge, the vcombination of ya i' 'porting such span, anchor arms pivotal Vconnected toa stationary part and provided span engagingitheracks, and meansfor holdingv 'tlrplnions engagement with the v 1o movable end, a stationary support for sup Y v'3"0 source of power.

aspan, a stationary support, a track mounted upon such stationary support, rotatable and connecting-arms mounted upon the s an a f 817,516.. Visn-:srM'Aujxeui coP 4a spanhaving'an upwardly and downwardly' movable end, a stationary support for supf Y witldrracks thereon, pinions mounted-on' the racks.`

12. In a'bascule-bridge, the combinationof aspan having an upwardly' and downwardly porting such span, anchor-arms pivotal connected to a stationary part and provided' with racks thereon, pinions mounted on the span engaging the-racks andy adapted to be connec.tedwith a suitable'sourcelof power,

and movably. connected with the anc Vorarms for vholding the pinions in' engagement with theracks.`

` 13. In' a bascule-bridge, the combination of ed upon such1 stationary support, rotatable,

track and pivotally connected withl t e span atsubst'antially. its center of gravity, anchorarms pivotally connectedvto a stationary part mounted on the span enga ing the racks and, adapted to be connecte j with, a suitable 14. In 'a bascule-bridge, the combination of links pivotallf sup orting mechanism mounted u on the trac and pivotally eonnectedewith t e span for'supporting the s an -duringits movements to open and c osed po'sit1on,- anchor .arms pivotall connected t'o a stationary'part and provide with I' racks thereon, pinlons -mounted on thespan-enga ing ,they racks and adapted? tobe connecte with al suitable source of power, and means for supporting the span when in loweredclosed positlon inde endently of the rotatable supporting mee anism. g

1,5'. In a bascule-bridge, the combination of,-

a span, la stationary support, a trackl mounte eduponf such stationary support, rotatable supporting mechanism mountedy upon the track and pivotally` connected withl the span for supporting it during its movements-to y open and'closed position, anchor-arms pivoty connected to a stationary partand provided with racks thereon, pinions mounted on the span engaging the racks and adapted to be connected with. la suitable source of power, means for supporting the span when in lowered closed position independently of the rotatable supportin anisrn, and

- connecte/ part and wit movements of the span.

T HEonoR Bann .Witnessesz I ANNIE C. COURTENAY," lJENNIE A. MAoEDwAnn.

with a stationary the span for 'controlling 4the 

